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By Alex Frazier
Some wrestlers distinguish themselves with tattoos.Pennsbury’s Kevin Bree has other ways.
In the first place, a tattoo was never a consideration.
“My mom told me if I got a tattoo not to go home,” he said.
So he found another avenue.
“In wrestling the only facial hair you can have is a mustache, so I grew a mustache,” said Bree.
The mustache, of course, is only one small way that sets Bree apart.
His performance on the mat gets people talking.
That was no more apparent than on Saturday when he stepped out on the mat against Neshaminy’s Tyler Stabilito.
Not only was Bree in the spotlight literally, but he was also the center of attention because the match was on the line.Pennsbury had forged a 19-0 lead in the early going, but the Redskins had closed the gap to one (29-28) after Steve Stemme’s major decision at 189.
The pressure was on.
It was Senior Day.
It was a chance to avenge a loss to Neshaminy last year (both individual and team).
And his undefeated record was on the line.
As he was warming up, Bree knew what he had to do.
“I was thinking nothing better—Neshaminy, Senior Night—have to go out big,” said Bree, who was also the starting middle linebacker on the football team. “It was the last time I was possibly wrestling Neshaminy and I had to do it big, just like we did in football.”
He felt confident because he had beaten Stabilito, 20-6, for fifth place in districts last year.
But as Pennsbury coach Joe Kiefer said, “We have a lot of respect for Stabilito. He’s been around. It wasn’t going to be a cakewalk. It wasn’t over until that final buzzer went off. Stabilito kept coming at him and giving a good effort.”Bree dominated Stabilito once again, especially on his feet as he rode four takedowns and a couple of reversals to a 14-6 victory—his 14th straight—which gave the Falcons a 33-28 win.
“Both sides were pumped up and really giving their best effort,” said Kiefer. “It’s always easier to say it when you win it that it was a great high school event, but that’s what it was.”
Of course, Bree had to give some credit to his mustache.
“That’s why people grow mustaches—for special occasions like this,” he said.
While the match was decided by Bree, there were many other matches that could have meant the difference.
A big matchup came at 152 where Pennsbury’s senior captain Mark Nicholson battled with Nick Russell.
Although Russell tended to be more aggressive on his feet, he couldn’t take Nicholson down. After a 1-1 regulation, the two went into overtime, again finishing 1-1. Nicholson then chose bottom and broke loose for the sudden victory.
“Nicholson’s bout and Bree’s bout, there’s the score difference,” said Kiefer. “Obviously there are a lot of others. It was the kind of match where if you change any three-point result, the other team wins. We anticipated that coming in, and it was very close to the score I anticipated.”
It was a match the subdued Neshaminy coach Dan Winters had hoped to win as was 103 where Pennsbury’s Anthony DiEmidio took down Ryan O’Connor with 15 seconds left. O’Connor escaped with two seconds left only to lose 4-3.
Freshman 130-pounder Joe Simcox helped spark the Redskins’ rally with a fall, one of three for the Redskins.
“I’ve been working hard and it paid off today,” he said. “I was expecting to go out there and do the best I could, get some team points. I was working hard to get those six points.”
Although the Redskins outscored Pennsbury in pins, 3-2, the Falcons racked up more majors, 3-1.“We wrestled really flat today,” said Winters. “There were a couple of matches we counted on early on, and they didn’t come through for us. We’re building our program and this was definitely a setback. I expect more from my guys.”
A crucial pin for Neshaminy came at 171 where Tyler Stevens barred Tristan Chadwick to his back and flattened him with just nine seconds left. That pulled Neshaminy to within five points before Steve Stemme made it a one-point match with his 11-0 major of David Acevedo, which set the stage for Bree.
Pennsbury 33, Neshaminy 28
285—Josh Mitchell (P) pinned John Emery :18
103—Anthony DiEmidio (P) dec. Ryan O’Connor 4-3
112—Josh DiSanto (P) pinned Jake Levay-Saba :27
119—Jeff Lieb (P) major dec. Harry Wilson 10-1
125—Colby Lederer (N) dec. Cody Jackson 4-2
130—Joe Simcox (N) pinned Dan Williams 3:36
135—Connor Koellner (N) dec. Kyle Demsko 1-0
140—Anthony Argenti (P) major dec. Kevin O’Connor 13-0
145—Brendan Hastings (N) pinned Pat Schlatter 3:41
152—Mark Nicholson (P) dec Nick Russell 3-2 SV
160—George Peel (P) dec. Luke Kisselback 3-2
171—Tyler Stevens (N) pinned Tristan Chadwick 5:51
189—Steve Stemme (N) major dec. David Acevedo 11-0
215—Kevin Bree (P) major dec. Tyler Stabilito 14-6
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